Atlanta Suburb Brags About Fines for Chipped Paint and Incorrectly Stacked Wood

by | May 27, 2018

Atlanta Suburb Brags About Fines for Chipped Paint and Incorrectly Stacked Wood

by | May 27, 2018

Improperly stacked wood. A cracked driveway. Chipped paint on a porch.
These are the kinds of offenses the government of Doraville, Georgia, is using to fine residents and threaten them with jail, all in an explicit attempt to balance the budget of the 8,000-person Atlanta suburb. Now people hit by some of those fines are suing the city in federal court, arguing that its direct financial interest in convicting people tried by its municipal court violates the 14th Amendment’s due process guarantee.
The lawsuit, filed by the Institute for Justice, “seeks to stop municipalities from budgeting to receive fines and fees,” says I.J. attorney Josh House. “Where you have a city that uses these numbers to balance its budget, you are creating an unconstitutional incentive to use the municipal court to balance this budget.”
Read the rest at Reason.com.

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF:  Israel and Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall

TGIF: Israel and Jabotinsky’s Iron Wall

Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was a key figure in the development of the Zionist movement, which led to the founding of Israel in 1948. After breaking from mainline Zionism, Jabotinsky, born in Odessa (Ukraine), established Revisionist Zionism, a more openly...

read more
The Smallness of Mark Levin

The Smallness of Mark Levin

In 2009, I was working part time in talk radio in Charleston, South Carolina as an on-air personality. I was also the token conservative columnist for the local, liberal free weekly paper. I wasn’t making a lot of money, but I was working in the field I was most...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This